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Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine, or naturopathy, is an approach to health care which aims to promote, restore and maintain health. Naturopathy aims to assist the patient in whatever aspect of their life needs support.
'The Healing Power of Nature' is the overriding principle behind naturopathic medicine, maintaining that all disease is a result of violating the 'laws of nature': Each individual has a...
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Naturopathic medicine, or naturopathy, is an approach to health care which aims to promote, restore and maintain health. Naturopathy aims to assist the patient in whatever aspect of their life needs support.

'The Healing Power of Nature' is the overriding principle behind naturopathic medicine, maintaining that all disease is a result of violating the 'laws of nature': Each individual has an inherent ability to restore and maintain health and balance under the right circumstances. It is the job of a naturopathic physician to assist in providing the ideal conditions for good health, to allow the body to function at its optimum level.

In naturopathic philosophy it is not the actual treatment or substance itself that does the healing, but the action of the body's innate self-healing capacity that restores correct function: Only Nature cures.

Naturopathy engages the healing power of Nature through correct nutrition and natural therapies to provide the body with the internal and external environment in which it can heal itself.

Naturopathy is based on the following principles:
* The Healing Power of Nature, or Vis Medicatrix Naturae: There is a 'vital force' or 'life force' which drives the self-healing or self-correcting mechanisms of the body.
* The 'Triad of Health', which describes the connection and interaction between the structural (physical), biochemical (nutritional) and mental/emotional aspects of all living beings. Dysfunction in one area invariably leads to an imbalance in the whole person; and
* The Uniqueness of the Individual: People are genetically, biochemically, structurally and emotionally unique. Each person responds in an individual way to influences, whether psychological, physical, nutritional, social or cultural.

Naturopathic physicians use an eclectic approach, utilising the essential method of interviewing and questions, listening, looking and palpating along with a thorough history of diagnosed disorders, prescribed medication, family history, diet and lifestyle, and performs a focused physical exam when indicated to select the optimal treatment to help reach the patient's goals. Naturopathic physicians can select from a broad range of treatment modalities in which they have been trained and which are closest to their personal philosophy. The form of naturopathic specialism at Greenfields arises from a new specialty called Generative Medicine which evolved from the growing scientific evidence and basis of the Blood Group Diet and GenoType Diet and Lifestyle consultations.

At Greenfields we are finding that Generative Medicine changes the way our patients see things. With practical lifestyle and dietary tools they feel empowered to make a difference in their life situation with renewed energy and vitality. They see their symptoms as barometers to guide decisions in stress management, exercise and food and preparation choices. For some who first come with health challenges as a result of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid conditions, imbalances in hormones, cancer, arthritis and autoimmune states, specific testing and interventions to assist the body's innate healing powers can facilitate a welcomed paradigm shift.

The philosophy of naturopathic medicine is enduring, and has survived the scrutiny of evidence-based medicine. Current outcome studies are amassing evidence from the ongoing investigation and research by utilising the model of Generative Medicine. Generative Medicine aims to identify the self-healing processes and allows the physician to participate in partnership with them. This is achieved by applying the tools of systems biology and bioinformatics (a branch of nutrigenetics) to the complex behaviours seen in health and disease. The Generative Medicine approach allows for safer and more individualised treatments in sickness and in health, with a better understanding of the complex behaviours of the whole person. These behaviours go beyond cause-and-effect relationships and provide a better understanding of the relationships between the individual parts, whether they are genes, cell organelles like mitochondria, organ systems, or even an individual's place in society.

Naturopathic philosophy is utilised to educate the patient to improve their posture, breathing, exercise and rest. Genetic and environmental factors are taken into consideration to individualise correct use of water and light, and nutrition through diet and strategic supplementation. Naturopathic treatment modalities include therapeutic massage, joint mobilisation and manipulation, osteopathy, craniosacral therapy and Chinese medicine. One-off homœopathic remedies can assist release of deep-seated patterns. Frequently recommended therapies include: naturopathic therapeutic massage, hydrotherapy (Epsom salt baths, cold water packs); botanical and nutritional supplements; vibrational essences, herbal or homœopathic remedies for short term benefit or in a first aid context.

Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a form of primary healthcare using the hands for diagnosis and treatment. Patients include the young, older people, manual workers, office professionals, pregnant women, children and babies.
Osteopathy uses a patient-focused physical approach to restoring, maintaining and promoting physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Primarily treatments take the form of a manual therapy invol...
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Osteopathy is a form of primary healthcare using the hands for diagnosis and treatment. Patients include the young, older people, manual workers, office professionals, pregnant women, children and babies.

Osteopathy uses a patient-focused physical approach to restoring, maintaining and promoting physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Primarily treatments take the form of a manual therapy involving massage, mobilisation and spinal manipulation for the treatment of musculoskeletal problems. Some osteopaths, including all osteopaths at Greenfields, use techniques such as osteopathy in the cranial field, which are a part of traditional osteopathy. Osteopaths may also use visceral techniques to treat the body organs.

Britain’s Osteopaths provide over eight million consultations a year for problems like those above that may be related to musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Our expertise in treating people in pain and other problems is sought by people of all ages and occupations.

Some osteopaths also see adults, teenagers, babies and children with problems other than musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Our patients report improvements in many other symptoms other than the areas above, where osteopathy is known to help.

Osteopathic treatment using techniques in the cranial field may be used alongside other osteopathic techniques such as manipulation. Some patients report benefit from a purely cranial / indirect approach, and these techniques are often well tolerated by patients who find joint manipulation uncomfortable. This approach is often used as a treatment of choice for infants and children, pregnant women and mothers, the elderly and frail, but can be applied to anyone.

Visceral osteopathy, or osteopathic treatment of the internal organs, addresses alternative physical causes of health problems which may not directly result from misalignment of bones and joints, or tension in skeletal muscles. The Barral Institute has a list of published research on the benefits of visceral osteopathy, including a study on mobilisation of the kidney with diagnostic ultrasound (PDF).

Our osteopaths may have had experience of treating patients presenting with certain conditions who have improved following osteopathic treatment, please contact us for details.

Osteopathic treatment of children is a specialism of our osteopaths, whom have had extensive postgraduate training in paediatric osteopathy.

Osteopathy in the United Kingdom has been statutorily registered since 1993, osteopaths practising in the UK are required by law to hold current registration with the General Osteopathic Council. Registration means that the osteopath:
- Is a regulated health professional
- Is trained and qualified
- Is required to keep their knowledge and skills up to date
- Is required to have professional indemnity insurance
- Welcomes any feedback on the care provided and operates a complaints procedure.

Complaints:
We offer a professional service and hope your experience will be a good one, but if you are not satisfied in any way please direct your issues to reception in the first instance, or one of the osteopaths at the clinic, either verbally or in writing. If you are not satisfied with the outcome you can contact the Institute of Osteopathy on 01582 488455, or if you are still not satisfied, contact the General Osteopathic Council, 176 Tower Bridge Road, London, SE1 3LU.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) includes Chinese Herbal Medicine, and also includes the practice of acupuncture. Herbal medicine has been used in China for centuries and is backed by a long and rich history of development, use and research. Chinese herbal medicine is unique in that the diagnosis and treatments are based on the theories of traditional Chinese medicine.
Besides discussing y...
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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) includes Chinese Herbal Medicine, and also includes the practice of acupuncture. Herbal medicine has been used in China for centuries and is backed by a long and rich history of development, use and research. Chinese herbal medicine is unique in that the diagnosis and treatments are based on the theories of traditional Chinese medicine.

Besides discussing your health issues with you, a practitioner of herbal medicine uses other signs and symptoms such as those found in your tongue and pulse to form a TCM diagnosis. The common cold, for example, may be diagnosed as "wind-cold invasion" and herbs which dispel wind and warm cold may be prescribed. Herbs administered within Chinese herbal medicine are usually raw and cooked into a tea, in a powder form and taken with hot water or in a pill form.

Like any medicine as a whole, some Chinese herbs may have undesired side effects. This is just like what you might have read about the Vioxx, the popular pain drug withdrawn in 2006 by Merck because it doubled the risk of heart attack. It all depends on what you take no matter whether it is a herb or a pharmaceutical: In China, statistics show that many more adverse drug reactions are reported for chemical drugs than Chinese herbs.

When used by qualified practitioners Chinese herbs provide the essential nutrition the body needs to overcome any physical, mental or emotional imbalances and most patients experience do not experience undesirable side effects.

It is important to see certified, qualified practitioners who use products from quality controlled sources, who can determine the safe use of herbs for you, and establish whether there is risk of interactions with drugs you may be or will be taking.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture at Greenfields includes Traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Medical Acupuncture, also known as Dry Needling.
Traditional acupuncture is a system of healthcare which originated in China many thousands of years ago. The ancient Chinese were not allowed to cut into the body, so they came up with a different system to explain the communication and connections within the body that wor...
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Acupuncture at Greenfields includes Traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Medical Acupuncture, also known as Dry Needling.

Traditional acupuncture is a system of healthcare which originated in China many thousands of years ago. The ancient Chinese were not allowed to cut into the body, so they came up with a different system to explain the communication and connections within the body that worked via channels as opposed to nerves and blood vessels. Through meticulous observation and record keeping, they showed how any obstruction along a channel would, over time, lead to pathology and/or pain within the body. Through careful study they developed an intricate system of cause and effect. Acupuncture aims to address any imbalance within the body to correct the communication networks and therefore improve health.

From a medical viewpoint, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system, influencing the body's self-regulating homeostatic systems, leading to the promotion of physical and emotional well-being.

When included in a comprehensive management programme, acupuncture has been proven to reduce pain levels. If you are being treated medically for your injuries, you may want to assist your process by balancing with acupuncture.

Whether dealing with the stress or pain from your injuries, balancing with acupuncture has shown to help many people recover.

Because acupuncture provides a way of diagnosis and treatment that is outside of the western model, acupuncture can often provide a fresh perspective giving you insight into the cause leading to a new treatment approach.

An interesting and consistent outcome is that acupuncture is found to be a safe treatment with very few side effects when undertaken by a qualified practitioner.

Often, one or two treatments provide noticeable and often complete relief. Because acupuncture is not a curative modality, some conditions may require several treatments as well as dietary adjustments and/or complementary herbal remedies.

Western medical acupuncture is a therapeutic modality involving the insertion of fine needles; it is an adaptation of Chinese acupuncture using current knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and the principles of evidence based medicine. While Western medical acupuncture has evolved from Chinese acupuncture, its practitioners no longer adhere to concepts such as Yin/Yang and circulation of qi, and regard acupuncture as part of conventional medicine rather than a complete “alternative medical system”. It acts mainly by stimulating the nervous system, and its known modes of action include local antidromic axon reflexes, segmental and extrasegmental neuromodulation, and other central nervous system effects. Western medical acupuncture is principally used by conventional healthcare practitioners, most commonly in primary care. It is mainly used to treat musculoskeletal pain, including myofascial trigger point pain. It is also effective for postoperative pain and nausea. Practitioners of Western medical acupuncture tend to pay less attention than classical acupuncturists to choosing one point over another, though they generally choose classical points as the best places to stimulate the nervous system. The design and interpretation of clinical studies is constrained by lack of knowledge of the appropriate dosage of acupuncture, and the likelihood that any form of needling used as a usual control procedure in “placebo controlled” studies may be active. Western medical acupuncture justifies an unbiased evaluation of its role in a modern health service.

Neuropsychiatry

Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the interface between neurology and psychiatry. This includes psychiatric problems arising from or associated with neurological conditions such as head injuries, Huntington's Disease, stroke, epilepsy, non-epileptic attack disorder, encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease. Examples might be a head injury leading to memory loss, ...
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Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the interface between neurology and psychiatry. This includes psychiatric problems arising from or associated with neurological conditions such as head injuries, Huntington's Disease, stroke, epilepsy, non-epileptic attack disorder, encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease. Examples might be a head injury leading to memory loss, a stroke with subsequent depression, a stressful life event followed by non epileptic attacks, Huntington's Disease associated with a change in personality.

A neuropsychiatric assessment has a neurological and psychiatric component in the history-taking and examination. Outside referrals for specialist tests such as EEG (a recording of the electric activity of the brain) or brain imaging with CT or MRI may be recommended. Treatment may include prescribed medication as well as complementary therapies.

Phlebotomy Service

A public service for medical blood tests for patients over 16. If your practitioner has requested that you have blood taken we can carry out the procedure for you, and centrifuge (spin the blood) if necessary.

Gatekeeping

Reiki Healing

Reiki is a unique system of energy healing. It is practised by transmitting spiritually guided life force, primarily through the hands.
Rei means Universal Consciousness, Spirit, the Hidden Source;
Ki means Life Energy, Life Force.
Put together, Reiki means Universal Life Energy or Spiritual Life Force.
It was in the early 1900's that a Japanese practitioner called Mikao Usui developed the ...
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Reiki is a unique system of energy healing. It is practised by transmitting spiritually guided life force, primarily through the hands.
Rei means Universal Consciousness, Spirit, the Hidden Source;
Ki means Life Energy, Life Force.
Put together, Reiki means Universal Life Energy or Spiritual Life Force.
It was in the early 1900's that a Japanese practitioner called Mikao Usui developed the "Usui System of Natural Healing", one of the most powerful yet gentle ways of healing with energy.
Today, the Usui Reiki method is one of the most comfortable ways to inner peace, balance and natural health.